Scars
by Phoenix halfbreed
Summary: "I should've broken your arm when I had the chance!" During the practice game with Mihoshi, Mihashi remembers.


Scars

Big Windup

During the practice game with Mihoshi, Mihashi remembers.

Warnings: Slight A/U, violence, blood, and swearing.

Chapter 1

"I should've broken your arm when I had the chance!"

Mihashi remembers middle school. The way everyone hated him cause he was a horrible pitcher who just wouldn't give up the mound. Remembers especially his third and final year in middle school, remembers his final season. Remembers and acknowledges that it was his fault. If he had just given up the mound, if he had just given up the ace position, he knew that none of what had happened that year would have had to happen.

**Two years ago - Mihoshi Academy Middle School**

Two straight years Mihashi had withstood the jeering and general hate of the whole team, except Kanou cause Kanou was just that nice of a guy, but it wasn't until third year that things started to get out of hand. While some on the team had just resigned themselves to the fact that they would lose cause Mihashi refused to give up being the ace, there were others, that even after two straight years of consecutive losses, couldn't help but be angry.

Practice was over and as usual Mihashi took his sweet time making his way to the club house. He frequently avoided changing with the others and often waited until everyone else or most everyone else had left for home before even thinking about changing and today, two games into the spring season, was no different.

Nervously looking around the changing room to make sure that he was alone Mihashi sighed in relief to note that everyone was gone already. Opening his locker to find it vandalized was nothing new to Mihashi, but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt to see things like Grandpa's fucking golden boy, useless, your nothing get off the mound, and other such slurs all over the walls of his locker and on his regular day clothes. They knew he wouldn't rat them out and as long as his Jerseys were fine the coach wouldn't find out by himself either.

He sighed as he walked toward the Janitors closet to find some cleaning supplies. It's not like this was the first time this had happened and he knew from experience that a couple of hours of scrubbing would get the stuff off the locker walls, but his clothes would be ruined. He'd have to walk home in his practice Jersey today. Hopefully his mom wouldn't notice the missing clothes, though he kind of doubted she would as she had yet to say anything about the last eight sets that had gone missing.

Just as he was turning around, cleaning supplies in hand, to go back to his locker, he came face to face or rather face to chest with Hatake. Mihashi dropped the supplies in shock and flinched away from Hatake's intimidating figure. Mihashi knew that Hatake hated him more then anyone else on the team and he also knew he deserved every bit of that hatred.

"Ha… ha… Hatake." Mishashi managed to stutter out.

Hatake just stared at him.

Mihashi was shaking. Hatake didn't normally acknowledge that Mihashi existed except to complain about him to the rest of the team and to catch his balls when coach forced him to. So why was he here? What did he want? Was he just here to ridicule Mihashi again or maybe to demand that he give up the mound to Kanou once more?

"Mihashi." Hatake finally spoke.

"Ye… ye… yes, Ha… Hatake."

"Meet me on the mound." And with that Hatake left the club house leaving behind a very confused Mihashi.

What did he mean 'Meet me on the mound.'?

This wasn't like Hatake at all. There hadn't been any insults or demands. He hadn't looked angry and he had acknowledged that Mihashi existed without being forced to. What was going on?

These thoughts kept circling around in Mihashi's head as he hurriedly put the cleaning supplies back, grabbed his mit, closed his locker and made his way to the mound.

As Mihashi got closer he realized that there were several others from the team waiting for him as well. What was going on? First Hatake and now these guys. There were six guys including Hatake that were waiting for him. There was Hatake, Hiaragi, Kadota, two guys he knew were second years, but couldn't remember their names, and one he was sure was Kuroda who was a new first year who was both taller and broader then most of the rest the team.

As he approached he noted that they all had an unreadable expression on their faces that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end and sent a chill down his spine. One of those moments when all he wanted to do was crawl in a hole and disappear, but it was too late to turn back now as everyone had noticed him approaching.

"He… Hey gu… gu… guys. Wha… wha… What…up?" He managed to stutter out as he joined them on the mound.

There was a tense pause as everyone there stared at him. Okay now he was sweating bullets.

"Give up the ace position Mihashi." Hatake finally broke the tensed silence.

"I… bu… I" Was all that managed to squeak out from Mihashi.

"Give up the mound Mihashi. You know you're not a pitcher, you know the only reason you're the ace is because of nepotism, you know it's Kanou that should be out here. Not you. Give it up Mihashi!" Hatake's words got more intense and angry as he spoke.

"I… I…" he tried again.

Now the others were chiming in. A mess of voices all demanding the same thing. They wanted an actual pitcher. They wanted Kanou.

Hatake held up a hand that demanded silence from the others.

"Give up the mound Mihashi."

Mihashi knew what Hatake was saying, knew what everyone was saying. He knew he didn't deserve the number one on his back and that the right decision for the team was to give up his position.

But despite what he knew. "I… I… I can't. I'm sorry." He still couldn't give up the mound. Pitching was all he had. It was everything that he was and is. He's not great academically; he doesn't have friends, no special talent. All he had was his love for pitching. He didn't want to think about what he would be without it.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T!" Hatake screamed at him, grabbing him by his jersey. "YOU LITTLE MAGGOT. HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU STAND ON THAT MOUND AND JUST LET US LOOSE FOR TWO STRAIGHT YEARS AND ALL YOU CAN SAY IS YOU'RE _SORRY!_ YOU'RE NOT SORRY AND YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR TEAM OR YOU WOULD HAVE ALREADY GIVEN THE POSITION TO KANOU YOU LITTLE SHIT." Hatake shook him back and forth as he was saying this before throwing him to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," was all Mihashi could say. Even when he felt the first kick, and the second, and the third, and all the others as his teammates beat on him for refusing to do what everyone knew needed to be done, even Mihashi, or perhaps especially Mihashi. All he could do was was curl up and repeat his mantra. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Sometime later, when Mihashi felt like maybe this would never end that he would die here. Beaten to death by his teammates, on the mound that he refused to give up, it stopped.

"Give up the mound Mihashi." Hatake's voice again. "Or this won't be a one time occurrence."

"I…I'm…I'm…sorry…I can't." Mihashi managed to choke out.

"Can't or won't Mihashi?" Hatake asked before leaving with the others.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note:

So this is my first fanfiction that I actually feel confident enough to post. I plan on this being about 3 or 4 chapters of about this size. The whole of the story is set I just need to get to writing it. I plan on this being complete by the end of summer as I won't have any time to commit to it once I go back to University. Anyway please let me know what you think. Thanks!

-PH


End file.
